Congregation Beth Adonai

The Torah often obligates us to remember: Remember the seventh day to keep it holy; Remember what Amalek did to you on your way out of Egypt; Remember the day on which you left Egypt. Upon reading these verses, one cannot help but ask: how can I remember something that didn't happen to me? Do I have to be part of something in order to remember it? Every day during the Shema prayer we fulfill this mitzvah by reciting the words "I am God your God who took you out of the land o...f Egypt to be your God" (Bemidbar 15:41). Indeed the first of the Ten Commandments opens with the statement that God took us out of Egypt (Shemot 20:2). The mitzvah to remember the Exodus and the fact that God took us out of Egypt is a daily one. Every single day of the year we remember coming out of Egypt. However, once a year we have a special mitzvah to tell the actual story of coming out of Egypt. This mitzvah we observe on the first night of Passover during the Seder when we relate the story of the Exodus as set forth in the Haggadah. Each year, at the Passover seder we read: "In every generation, every person must see him or herself as having left Egypt!" We have to see ourselves as leaving Egypt? Now I'm sure you are asking yourself how can we do this in the 21st century so far removed from those events 3,500 years ago? First, we do this on the actual night the Israelites pursued their freedom linking us to that time. Then the elements of the Seder for a multi-sensory learning tool. We use our mouth, ears, hands - all our senses are involved to help us identify with personally leaving Egypt. We follow in the footsteps of our forefathers. From eating matzah, dipping bitter herbs to singing joyous praise to God, the Passover Seder enables us to personally experience the Israelites’ journey, from the bitterness of slavery to the joy of redemption. The Passover Seder gives us the ability to create memories to help us do things we otherwise wouldn't be able to do (ie personally escape from Egypt). By trying to act as if we were there, we take on the challenge of changing our present and future. In Judaism, the act of remembering is supposed to serve as a catalyst for ethical and spiritual behavior. Also, taking this "leaving Egypt experience" a step further, we need to ask ourselves, 'Where am I enslaved in my life today? And have I the intention of getting out of that slavery today, whether it involves, money, job, relationships, etc.?

Shabbat Service - Rabbi Scott Sekulow

Let's study together this week http://bethadonai.com/wordp/wp-content/uploads/Tetzaveh.pdf Almost 50 verses of this parsha describe the garments of the priests in great detail. The work of the kohen was utterly dependent upon his wearing these clothes. The more elevated and spiritual the role of the kohen, the greater emphasis the Torah placed on his clothes - four for the other priests and eight for the High Priest.... What do you think are the positive and negative messages of clothes today? How has society shifted the message of clothes? Do you feel what you wear has any bearing? Do you feel reading this about the clothes for the High Priest changes your thoughts on what you might wear to a "religious" service since 1 Peter 2 calls us a royal priesthood?

What books are you reading?